FREN 80.04 Color Coding: The Intensive Use of Color in Medieval Media
In medieval Western Europe, civilization was a culture of color. Color was omnipresent, whether in interior or exterior paintings, in sacred or secular architecture, in sculpture, furniture or illustrated manuscripts. A church was not considered complete until it had been painted. Mural paintings adorned with narrative scenes or decorative figures sought to embellish God's earthly Creation; to paint was to undertake a spiritual endeavor. At the same time, color and images aimed to teach; no scene or figure was without meaning. From the walls of medieval edifices to the pages of manuscripts, we will explore in this seminar pictorial creation in France from the seventh through the fifteenth centuries.
Instructor
See department website
Prerequisite
A course in the French 10 sequence or permission of the instructor